The present invention relates to a pre-fabricated dome and a spherical structure.
Generally, dome-types of housings, residential units, buildings and the like are built by assembled modular components in a simplified way for temporary uses, and dome-types of pre-fabricated housings, buildings and the like, which are used as a large building or a permanent housing to provide a perfect block between room temperature and outdoor temperature, have never been built yet.
Conventional dome-types of structures, which are publicly known, are officially published. Among them, the typical one is UNIVERSAL HUB STRUT SYSTEM FOR A GEODESIC ENCLOUSURE disclosed in US patent no. US 2013/0152486, wherein the geodesic structure is assembled by interconnecting a plurality of universal hubs and struts at each vertex of a geodesic spatial framework. To connect a strut to a universal hub of the present system, a strut-tab on a strut end overlaps a hub-tab of the universal hub, which is secured together via a fastening means through the respective ports. The universal hub with hub-tabs resembles a “flower with petals,” the petals corresponding to the hub-tabs and the pistil corresponding to the polygonal center component.
Another dome-type of structure, which is publicly known, is the light-weight dome connector disclosed in Japanese patent publication no. Pyeong4-41831, wherein each hub is inserted into upper and lower ends of a pipe member used as a strut, and the upper and lower hubs have 5-6 pairs of arms protruded radially, and plate struts are inserted between each pair of arms and fixedly attached by bolts and nuts to support the dome in dual layers.
In addition, “dome building” disclosed in Korean patent no. 2009-0121994 is publicly known, wherein the disclosed technology relates to a dome building, comprising side walls with which the dome is polygonally enclosed along circumference of a given area, a pre-fabricated dome roof frame to be installed over the side walls, wherein the dome roof frame is cut off in a given unit length, and both ends of the cut frame have each insertion tab provided in a tetragonal tube form, a plural number of frame pipes going through openings formed at each insertion tab to fasten them, a pair of upper and lower connection openings to receive insertion tabs, which meet at a connection point of each frame pipe when the plural frame pipes are radially arranged around one connection point where they get to meet, and thereby connect them integrally, and a fastening means to fasten and fix each pair of connection openings integrally so that each insertion tab of the plural frame pipes may not come out of the connection openings.
Meanwhile, “pre-fabricated dome house” disclosed in Korean patent no. 10-0397476 is publicly known, wherein the dome house can be built by assembling modular members continuously, of which neighboring faces are continuously interconnected, and each modular member comprises a metal frame having a connection tab with a coupling hole at the end of each side, which is formed by bending it, and urethane resin to be formed by foaming so that the connection tab of the metal frame may be exposed.